Chez Josiah

So, about a week and a half ago, my mom and sister decided that Eric and I needed a night out and a nice dinner. Since they knew that if we went out we wouldn't really be able to relax, wondering how our tiny one was fairing, they decided to suprise with dinner in at Chez Josiah.

I awoke from a nap to my mother informing us that we had reservations in the "Josiah Lounge" in 10 minutes (the lounge turned out to be our living room). We were there served drinks and yummy (bacon) apetizers.




We were then taken to the dining room, which was decorated with beautiful flowers and candles (from our wedding), and we were then served a meal of delicious meal of parmasean monkey bread, flank steak, dutchess potatoes, and sugar peas.




All of that was topped off with dessert, lemon pudding cake with homemade plum sauce. The meal was top notch and couldn't have been outdone by any restaurant.

Their thoughtfulness touched us and we appreciated the meal so much.

My Favorite Things

No, I'm not talking about raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens...I'm talking about my favorite things about Josiah. As I fed JD last night I just sat staring at him in amazement and thought about all the wonderful things I love about him, and felt compelled to share those things with all of you (along with some pictures).

I love:

1. all the different faces he makes as he's drifting off to sleep

2. the way he grabs my finger and holds on as if he's afraid I'm going to leave him

3. the little squeaky noises he makes, just so that we know he's still there

4. his tiny little baby feet and hands

5. his big gray eyes and the way he looks up at me when I'm holding him

6. the way he smiles, even if it is just because he has gas

7. the way he looks like a little frog when you lay him down in his crib to sleep

8. the way he loves to cuddle up close and be held tight

9. his crooked yawn

10. the way he tries to suck his thumb

11. the way that Eric loves him and looks lovingly at him

There are so many more things to list, but these are just a sampling of the things I love about him. He has truly been such a blessing to our lives, I don't know how we got along without him. He's an amazing little person and I can't wait to see what God has in store for him and our new family.

BACON

So, as I've said, while my sister has been here, she's been making us all of our meals. She also knows that Eric LOVES bacon...all things bacon, and therefore she has made as a wide variety of bacon treats. Here are some of the delicious items we've had:

1. Bacon Candy (bacon cooked with brown sugar on top of it)
2. French toast flavored muffins with maple glaze frosting and bacon on top
3. Bacon empanadas
4. Water chestnuts wrapped in bacon in a tangy sauce
5. Bacon salt (which you can put on anything to make it taste like bacon)

And yet to be had...cinnamon rolls unwrapped with a piece of bacon re-wrapped in it. She also made bacon ice cream with her friend before coming to see us...this sounds a bit strange to me, but she swears it was delicious.

If anyone else thinks that any of these items sound delicious, let me know and I'll get you a recipe!

It's me again

Well, I thought it was time to finally give you all some updates, as it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. I've had threats of being disowned from my family, threats of stalking from friends, and phone calls pleading for new pictures. This post will contain no pictures as many of them are on my sisters camera and I need to get the computer and organize our pictures...but really, I promise this time that they will be coming soon.

As for me, I'm finally feeling better...my incision is healing, but it's been a very long road. I'm now able to get down on the floor and play with JD, lay on my side comfortably without feeling like my insides will spill out, get up and down wihtout too much dificulty and walk around with JD...these all seem like small things, but to me are major accomplishments. It took two weeks to get my staples out which was a nightmare, but I felt great after that. About a week ago I was able to progress from sweat pants to jeans...although I reserve them for special ocassions!

JD is doing pretty well, we have our fussy times, but overall he's a good baby. The past two days have been challenging as when he's awake and isn't eating, he's been crying. He is incosolable and seems so unhappy, but I just can't figure out what's wrong. The only thing that calms him down is running the hair dryer, and you better be in a comfortable position, because there's no moving once he's asleep because he'll wake up screaming! Interestingly, it only seems to have been during the day (which I am grateful for), and he does pretty well at night.

I can't believe that JD is a month old already...it seems that we just brought him home. He's getting so big and I can't believe how much he's changed already. I realized that tomorrow will be half way through my 10 week maternity leave and that makes me very sad, it's going to be so hard to leave him. I find that my favorite times with him though are during the night, when it's just he and I and I'm feeding him. He's so calm and I just love looking at his face and I can't believe that this beautiful baby belongs to Eric and I, that we've been so blessed, and that this perfect child is our responsibility. That, the fact that we are responsible for this little life, is still surprising and scary at times, but Eric is great and we are getting through this together.

Having my mom and sister here has been great. My mom left last week, and that was very sad, but I think she likes her grandson so much that we'll be seeing her fairly frequently. My sister is here for about five more days, and she has been amazing, just being suportive, making meals, and making us laugh. We feel so blessed to have been supported by so many friends and family.

I promise to post more pictures soon...but there are at least some updates on our new family.

Some Updates

Well, let me start by saying that I have the most fantastic husband in all the world. You can try to dispute me on this fact, but you won't win. He definitely wins an award and has proven to me over and over again through the past several days why I love him and chose to spend the rest of my life with him. He has been an amazingly supportive husband and a phenomenal father to our little Josiah.

This recovery process has been a bit challenging. I have shared with some of you that I can't even do the most basic things that you would expect to do for your new child, like change a diaper, pick him up when he's crying, or in this case, feed him myself. I have had quite a bit of pain at my incision site, so getting up quickly and responding to a needy baby has been so hard, luckily I have a husband who is quick to jump in and deal with the task himself, or bring Josiah to me for comforting. I have had lots of problems with breastfeeding, and while we are still attempting it, I can't do it without Eric. It's a long story, and too many details for this space, but if you'd like to know more...just ask...I'd be happy to terrify all you mom's of the future with my lovely story :)

Anyway, last night was our first night home and was really hard. I took some pain meds late lat night and suffered a pretty nasty reaction in the form of uncontrollable shaking from my legs to my chest. I couldn't even hold the baby to feed him, and was pretty sure we were going to end up back at the hospital. It was a rough night, but I am feeling better now and looking forward to "freshening up", and never taking Darvocet again! So, please, pray for me over these next few days...for my strength, courage, and ability to rely on my husband who is so willing to help (which is harder for me than I'd like to admit).

We love you guys and can't wait to share some more pictures with you soon.

We are proud to announce....

Josiah David Maring! Josiah was born last night at 7:13pm and weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 1/2" long. He is perfect and wonderful and we are enjoying the addition to our family immensely! Please enjoy the pictures that we have and we will continue to update them for you as regularly as possible.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well. The C-Section went very smoothly, although we got to a late start becuase the doctor had another delivery. The anesthesiologist was fantastic, and did a phenomenal job. We had a wonderful nurse assigned to us in triage, who upon seeing my anxiety and nerves, promptly asked if she could lead us in a word of prayer, which was much appreciated. By the time we were ready to go into surgery, her shift was over, but because I was so tense not having Eric with me (he can't be in there during prep), she stayed with me, held my hand and helped me to breathe through my anxiety. Then, since it was almost time for the big arrival, she decided to stay and see him, then made sure to tell me how wonderful he was while Eric was busy observing the working nurses.

Neither Eric nor I have slept more than 20 minutes in the past 24 hours, so we are very tired, but other than that doing pretty well. I have some soreness at the incision site. Hopefuly tonight the cathader and IV will be removed.

We are all doing well! Here are a few pictures. There will be much more to follow!

It's Ranger Time

So, for those of you who know me well, you know that I don't like to do much of anything without a plan. I like a road map, a general direction, the option to change course if necessary. Well, we learned this morning that this is probably one trait little Ranger is going to inherit from his mother.

I had my standard 39 week appointment today, another one Eric wanted to attend, even though I assured him it was not necessary. Well, good thing he was there. Last week the doctor seemed unsure (or maybe it was two weeks ago?) whether the baby was head down or not, well today she was still concerned. "I think the baby might be breech" was all she had to say to send me into tears. She assured me it was going to be OK and left to find the ultrasound tech. She came back in, gave me a gown, and ushured me down the hall to the ultrasound room. Sure enough, Baby Ranger decided he didn't so much like the head down position.

So, she also informed me that there is not enough fluid to try to "spin" him around (but don't worry, I have plenty of fluid...just not where it's needed I guess?). In addition, the doc goes on vacation Thursday. She informed me that a C-Section was going to be our best option at this point (more tears...Eric reassuringly rubbing my back, telling me he's healthy and that's the important part), as she didn't think she could "spin" him without causing me great harm, and possibly causing harm to him. She called the hospital and they had no availability for a C-Section tomorrow, so she asked me when the last time I ate or drank was, and scheduled me for a C-Section tonight at 5:30! So, Ranger knew that he wasn't planning to come into the world without a big announcement, and a clear plan :)

I can't believe we are going to have a baby tonight. I am excited, nervous, and scared out of my mind. I don't know how to be a mom! Yes, I realize I have had 39 weeks to worry and wonder about this, but now that there is this sense of finality, and knowing that in less than four hours I'll be holding a baby...it suddenly seems very real. I am a bit sad that I won't get to have a "real" birth, not that the end result won't be the same...but it just seems like a bit of a loss, I won't know what a real contraction feels like, I won't know what it's like to push...I just won't have that experience, not this time anyway. He'll be here, and he'll be healthy, and that's the best part, but I am definitely going through my own grieving process.

But for now, I'm off to have a baby. But what did I do before hand, shaved my legs of course! And now we're off to the mall for another night gown, our last outing before.....

What? You really thought I'd tell you his name?? After all this time you don't think I can wait just a few more hours? Please...keep posted!